1. Field of the Invention
This invention pertains to an air-conditioned display case for keeping and displaying merchandise, namely, perishable foods or the like items, and it relates more particularly to facilitating the supply of the merchandise to the display case.
2. Description of the Prior Art
FIG. 13 shows a conventional refrigerated display case as an example of conventional air-conditioned display cases. A display case 1 has an housing 2 and a separator panel 14 which is disposed inside the housing 2. The housing 2 has an access opening 9 on its front side. A duct 20 is disposed inside the separator panel 14 and the space further inside is a display room 5. Display shelves 4 are disposed in the display room 5 for displaying merchandise 11 thereon. There are an inside air passageway 8A in the duct 20 and an outside air passageway 8B between the housing 2 and the separator panel 14. An evaporator 6 is disposed in a rear section inside the air passageway 8A so that the air passing through the evaporator 6 is refrigerated thereby. A fan 7D and a fan 7E are disposed in the inside and the outside air passageways 8A, 8B, respectively, so as to drive and circulate the air through the respective air passageways and form inside and outside aircurtains 10A, 10B, respectively, across the access opening 9, in the directions shown by the arrows. The temperature of the outside aircurtain 10B is normally between those of the inside aircurtain 10A and the ambient air. The aircurtains 10A, 10B are effective in substantially isolating the refrigerated air in the display room 5 from the ambient air and, therefore, keeping the merchandise 11 on the display shelves 4 under a refrigerated state.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,291,027, for example, discloses a conventional refrigerated display case of this type.
With such a conventional air-conditioned display case as described above, however, the merchandise to be displayed must be supplied always through the front access opening. In that case, a work personnel must convey a supply of merchandise, normally on a cart, to the front of the display case. Therefore, when the store is crowded with shopping customers, moving the cart through the customers or occupying the area in front of the display case by the cart and the work personnel is not only a nuisance to the shopping customers but also an inconvenience to the work personnel himself. Furthermore, in case of a conventional display case, the work personnel has to make a trip to the display case in order to convey a new supply of merchandise every time when any of the display shelves are to be replenished with the merchandise.